Activating and Strengthening Connection to Future Selves Boosts Retirement Preparation Among Middle-Aged Working Adults Over a 6-Month Period

This study examined the effects of an integrated intervention involving exposure to aged future self and a writing task on retirement planning among 235 young and middle-aged working adults. Participants were randomly assigned into three groups: control group (CS), experimental group (FS), and experimental group with a writing task (FSW). The experimental groups viewed an age-morphed photo of their future selves while the control group saw a photo of their current selves. Afterward, the FSW group completed a five-day diary writing task about improvement plan for their aged future selves' well-being, while the FS and CS groups did not. Although no significant main effects of experimental conditions were shown, middle-aged FSW participants reported more financial and psychological retirement planning at the six-month follow-up compared to the CS group and young FSW participants. The implications for targeting specific age groups using unique psychological intervention approaches to encourage retirement planning were discussed.